The victory over Pakistan has broken new ground for Zimbabwe. It is the team's first Test victory away from home, although had justice been done they would have beaten Sri Lanka at Colombo in January. Victories by visiting teams in Pakistan have been very rare, although the Australians recently completed a 1-0 series victory there, their first in Pakistan for almost 40 years. Yet only a year ago the once mighty West Indies were beaten 3-0 in a series.
Another monkey off the team's back is the fact that this was their first Test victory chasing a target. In the past they have tended to choke when faced with a target to make for victory, but this time there were no real tremors, no panic buttons. As far as Test cricket is concerned, they have finally bridged the gulf between knowing they should achieve a target and actually reaching it.
Victory in Peshawar had looked unlikely for Zimbabwe after both teams had completed their first innings, just as it had at Harare Sports Club in October after the Zimbabwean second innings had faltered, leaving India only 235 to win.
Then, in both matches, superb Zimbabwean bowling against admittedly poor batting swung the game. Against India Olonga took five wickets in the first innings and played his part in a team effort as Zimbabwe bowled out India short of their target.
In Peshawar he ripped out captain Aamer Sohail and the brilliant Inzamam-ul-Haq for two runs apiece; with Heath Streak and Mpumelelo Mbangwa taking a wicket each, Pakistan soon found themselves with four wickets down and only 15 runs on the board.
They never recorded, and the team barely reached 100. Their 103 is the lowest Test score against Zimbabwe, beating the 147 made by Pakistan in the drawn Lahore Test in 1993/94. Coach Dave Houghton described his team's performance that day as ``awesome stuff''.
It was a team effort, though, and several other players contributed vitally at critical moments. No victory would have been possible without Neil Johnson's first-innings century. He went in to face a rampant Waqar Younis on a hat-trick, and admitted what a frightening experience it was for him.
This was only his second Test match, and he had failed with the bat in his first.
Few Test centuries can have been more aggressive, especially when none of his team-mates reached 30. His innings of 107 lasted only 117 balls, his century coming off only 103, and he hit no fewer than 16 fours. He did enjoy some luck, to which he was surely entitled. Thanks to his effort, Zimbabwe fell only 58 runs behind on first innings.
At this point the advantage seemed to be with Pakistan, as Zimbabwe would have to bat last. Then came Olonga's burst, well backed by Streak and Mbangwa, and Pakistan were struck a death-blow.
In the first innings Heath Streak took four wickets, the first of which was his hundredth in Test cricket. Only Paul Strang (57), who was omitted from the team in both Zimbabwe's two recent victories, has taken more than 40 apart from Streak.
Over the years Streak has undoubtedly been Zimbabwe's greatest Test bowler despite having frequently to play through injuries during the past three years. During the India Test match, Dave Houghton said he thought Streak was back to about 80% of his very best. Even that makes a very good bowler indeed.
The vital contribution of Mbangwa should never be under-estimated. In recent Tests he has been the stock bowler, bowling with superb accuracy, tying down an end and frustrating the batsmen. He did the same job at Peshawar, taking six wickets for only 63 in the match. He may not return earth-shaking figures but his consistent contribution is vital.
Finally, Murray Goodwin saw Zimbabwe home with 162 needed to win, enjoying good support much of the time from Grant Flower. As a newcomer with experience in Australia, Goodwin has been largely untouched by Zimbabwe's failures in chasing targets in the past, and a cool but aggressive innings led his country through to an historic victory.
Wasim Akram, in a desperate bid to turn the game, bowled some superb deliveries and took all three Zimbabwean wickets to fall. The skill and composure of Goodwin, however, made sure there was no slip-up.
Zimbabwe now play a four-day first-class warm-up match against Karachi before the second Test, and Houghton's latest report suggests that he himself is likely to come out of retirement to play at the age of 41, at the captain's request in order to rest a bowler.
Then come the remaining two Test matches, starting on December 10 and 17 respectively. The pressure will be on Zimbabwe to hold on to their lead in the series, as Pakistan are well known for fighting back like wounded tigers — as indeed they did after Zimbabwe's first-ever Test victory back in 1994/95.
Pakistan are a country with tremendous cricketing talent, but they have so often failed to play consistently up to their potential. They are in some disarray at the moment, with captaincy and administrative problems and the betting controversy.
Undeniably they have more sheer talent than Zimbabwe, but the tourists have shown that they are streets ahead as far as morale and team spirit are concerned. The next two matches should provide Zimbabwe with a tougher Test, as Pakistan regroup. We will follow them with avid interest.
Scores:
Pakistan 296 (Ijaz 87, Yousuf 75; Streak 4/93) and 103 (Olonga 4/42).
Zimbabwe 238 (Johnson 107; Wasim 5/52, Waqar 4/78) and 162/3 (Goodwin 73*). Zimbabwe won by seven wickets.